Udodi Onwuzurike’s father, Coach Chris Onwuzurike, has called on the Federal Government to invest in his son if the country wants him to deliver a great result at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
 
Onwuzurike burst into the limelight in 2021 when he won the 200m gold medal for Team Nigeria at the World U-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. He is set to make history in the 2025 Wanda Diamond League Final, which is held today and tomorrow at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich, Switzerland.
 
Speaking with The Guardian from his base in the United States, Coach Onwuzurike, who is also a track and field tactician, said: “To make the Diamond League final is a great achievement. I am pleased with Udodi’s level of determination to make big headlines in track and field despite the challenges he has passed through since last year.
 
“One message I want to pass to our Federal Government is to invest in Udodi ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics. Both the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) should believe in his ability to deliver good results on the big stage. My son is just 22 years old, and this is the right age for athletes that Nigeria need to invest in ahead of the Olympics.
 
“Udodi is a Nigerian/American citizen. In 2021, he decided to switch allegiance to Nigeria instead of representing America, and he should be appreciated.
 
“Some people may be thinking that Udodi decided to switch allegiance to Nigeria because he could not make the American team. No. That is not correct because my son had proven his great skills even before he won the 200m gold with a record at the 2021 World U-20 Championships. The following year, he emerged champion in the NCAA.
 
“Some of the athletes he defeated at the NCAA are the ones dictating the pace in both the 100m and 200m at the World stage now. The good thing is that Udodi has recovered fully because this is the first time he is competing at long length without any form of injury.”
 
The coach said that Onwuzurike could not make it to Lagos for the last AFN National Trials because he was in Europe attending some competitions to be in shape for the trials.
  
“He returned to the U.S., and his coach quickly arranged his flight ticket to Lagos. He left for the airport with his American passport and forgot to take his Nigerian passport along, and they stopped him from flying to Lagos. We live in another city, and before we could make arrangements to take his Nigerian passport to him, it was too late. I even drew the AFN president’s attention to it by sending proof of his flight ticket.
 
“My son won’t run away from National Trials. We are waiting for World Athletics to release its final list of qualified athletes for the World Championships in Tokyo to be sure if he makes the cut or not.”
 
Udodi Onwuzurike, 400m hurdler, Nathaniel Ezekiel, and 100m World hurdles champion, Tobi Amusan, are the three Nigerians gunning for the coveted $50,000 top prize at the 2025 Diamond League in Zurich.